The document compares and contrasts the CPA and CFA certifications. The CPA certification is for accountants and requires candidates to complete an accounting degree, pass the Uniform CPA Examination, and have two years of professional accounting experience. In contrast, the CFA certification is for financial analysts and requires candidates to have a bachelor's degree and four years of professional experience, or a combination of education and experience totaling four years. The CFA certification involves passing three levels of exams covering topics like accounting, economics, ethics, and money management.

1. Differences between CPA and CFA
US CPA Exams in India – the US CPA examination will be held at eight centres across India,
paving way for accountancy aspirants to be able to train in India as well as the US.
Define CPA
The CPA program is the highest certification of expertise in the area of accounting. Only CPA
experts can supply an opinion to the public regarding publicly distributed financial or
accounting statements. CPA (Certified Public Accountant) is a professional certification
offered by the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) in order to
maintain industry-wide professional standards. Due to the Novel Covid-19, US CPA Exams in
India
The CPA’s basic role is to help the business’s demands. CPA curriculum includes -
 Tax preparation
 Financial statements
 Financial planning
 Forensic accounting
 Internal auditing
 Income tax
To become a CPA, the candidate must fulfill the following guidelines such as -
 Complete a college degree in the accounting sector
 Must pass the Uniform CPA Examination
 Must have a certain amount of professional experience in accounting at least for two
years to cover 150 total credits.
Define CFA

2. CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) is a professional certification offered by the internationally
acknowledged CFA Institute from the USA, the Association for Investment Management and
Research (AIMR) for investment and financial experts.
CFA is widely considered to be the gold standard in the field of investment analysis. It is a
graduate-level investment profession established in the year 1962 and awarded by the CFA
Institute. At present, there are more than 123,000 CFAs charter holders working worldwide.
There are three stages of CFA exams with areas covering, that includes-
 Accounting
 Economics
 Ethics
 Money Management
 Security Analysis
The CFA first level test is conducted twice per year usually in the month of June and
December.
The main fields’ are-
 Ethical and Professional Standards
 Quantitative Methods, Economics
 Financial Reporting &Analysis
 Corporate Finance
 Equity Investments
 Fixed Income
 Derivatives
 Alternative Investments
 Portfolio Management
 Wealth Planning
The second level exam is only conducted once per year and generally in the month of
June.
The 2nd tier exam is too conducted once a year in the month of June. It focuses on effective
wealth planning and portfolio management by requiring the candidate to learn, understand
all the concepts, and analytical methods in the entire program.

3. To become a CFA, the candidate must fulfill the following guidelines such as -
 Candidates should have four years of professional experience with a bachelor’s
degree or should be appearing in the final year of the bachelor’s degree.
 OR combining both professional experience and education totalling should be about
four years.
 For undergraduate qualification, the bachelor’s degree should get completed before
registering for the Level II exam.